Ammonia Peak

[Colin_T]

Do not feed frozen bloodworm if you have ammonia problems because it will make it worse. Just use a bit of flake food.

Your fish won't starve. Unlike mammals that use most of the food they eat to keep warm, fish take their body temperature from the surrounding environment (the water). This means any food they eat is used for swimming and growing. Fish can go for weeks or even months without food and remain fine.

More fish die from over feeding than starvation.

 

[ShannonKoletti]

Okay thank you.

This morning I went to check my ammonia and lo and behold.. I’ve forgotton to plug the filter back in. My ammonia is now at 0.50ppm.. don’t think I’m cut out for this fish keeping business.

Should I do another water change now or wait until my filter maybe does the job? The filter media was in water all night as the tank water level is high so hasn’t dried out. Would my bacteria colony be dead?

 

[Colin_T]

what sort of filter do you have?

turn the filter back on and wait a couple of hours. If the ammonia has not gone down then do a water change to dilute it.

 

[ShannonKoletti]

The filter is just a stock Aqua One filter that came with a tank.. it's a top filter that has a pipe that shoots water down from about 10 different points into a sponge layer, beneath the sponge layer is a filter carbon cartridge layer and then beneath that is where I put ceramic ring filter media from my 200L tank.. I also put stuff in with that called Matrix today to see if that helped and Nutrafin Cycle.

My ammonia is still at 0.50ppm.. should I be doing another water change or wait until tomorrow to see if anything kicks in overnight?

 

[Colin_T]

wait until tomorrow, if there is still an ammonia reading tomorrow, then do a water change.

 

[ShannonKoletti]

Ammonia is still at 0.50ppm.. does that mean my established filter media just isn’t working? I haven’t fed them for a couple days now and there’s nothing decaying in there..

Will do a water change today and head out to buy duckweed.

 

[Colin_T]

If the ammonia has not dropped then the filter is not working properly.

Feed them today then wait 4-5 hours and do a big water change.

If you can get Water Sprite it is a nicer looking plant than Duckweed and usually has less snails on it.

 

[ShannonKoletti]

It went up to about 1.0ppm, I fed them this morning then did a 70% water change, added Nutrafin Cycle and and my Blue Planet Water Conditioner, waited about 3 hours then tested the water.. it's down to 0.50ppm again. What can I do for the filter? It's all flowing out fine, there's gunk already in the cartridges so I know they're working fine..

I can't seem to find Water Sprite and only one store has Duckweek (it's illegal in NSW).. I'm really confused as to what to do, I added the Aqua One Ammonia Neutraliser just so my fish don't perish, I really wanted my filter to just do its thing. Nitrite is at 0, Nitrate is at 0, PH is about a 6.8 now.

 

[Colin_T]

Just wait and let the filters establish, it will take about a month. Keep feeding down to once every couple of days and do a big water change about 4-5 hours after you feed them.

Your pH is fine and will help the fish because ammonia is less toxic in acid water (pH below 7.0).

If you talk to your local petshop, they should be able to order some Water Sprite in for you. Ceratopteris thalictroides or Ceratopteris cornuta is the scientific name for Water Sprite, and the shop might be able to find it under that name rather than the common name.

If Duckweed is illegal in your state then don't tell anyone if you have it. You never know who is reading this.

 

[ShannonKoletti]

Okay, thank you.. so I should be doing big water changes every 2nd day after I feed? I'm worried about killing bacteria whilst water changing.

I heard that it's better to have a lower PH so I did drop it a bit, only one step so it wouldn't freak out anyone and it's safe enough for all my fish. I've just purchased so many things now to try and fix the ammonia that just doesn't seem to be working for me..

I saw a petshop that had something that looked extremely similar but I'm not exactly sure if it's it, they don't have the names of the plants anywhere so I'm not even sure if they know what it is, there's no fish experts in that store.

Okay.. I definitely haven't bought any

 

[Colin_T]

Yes, just do a water change every second day about 4-5 hours after you feed the fish. And keep the pH at 6.8 until the filters have cycled, then let it go back up to whatever it is normally (7.0).

Water changes will not affect the filter bacteria as long as the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank. People do fish in cycles all the time and they do big water changes to keep the ammonia levels down and it does not harm the filter bacteria.

If you see any plants or fish at the pet shop and want info on it, take a photo with a camera or mobile phone and post the pic on here. We can try to ID them for you.

 

[ShannonKoletti]

Okay thank you so much for all your help I really appreciate it, hopefully my tank starts working soon so I can admire it and not just stress about it. Never had this many problems with a tank before.

I just bought Water Sprite online from a super sketchy site that hopefully won't steal my money.. plus a bunch of other plants!

 

[ShannonKoletti]

Little update,

Yesterday morning my Ammonia was at 0.50ppm still, I fed the fish then did a large water change about 8 hours later. I pulled out all of my plants and ornaments, upturned the sand then cleaned out all gunk and debris, added seachem prime to the new water as well as liquid bacteria, replanted everything and added the new water. I had also noticed that one of the filter spouts was running straight back into my tank water instead of the sponge so fixed that.

Tested my water this morning and it’s at 0.25ppm ammonia, a steady PH of 6.8, all fish are very happy still and I’m feeding once every 2 days.

I have 3 water sprite plants in my tank now.. hoping my ammonia will go down by itself as now it’s at a lower level so I won’t have to keep doing water changes.

Also, here’s a picture of my tank, I know I shouldn’t have a fighting fish in a community tank and they can turn overnight but I’ve had him for about a month now and no sign of aggression.

 

[NickAu]

I heard that it's better to have a lower PH so I did drop it a bit,

You dropped the PH how? Lowering the PH is not a simple task, Its a lot more complicated than adding a few drops of Miraculous PH lowering solution to so many gallons of water, If not done correctly it will cause you PH to fluctuate.

I shouldn’t have a fighting fish in a community tank

Normally I wouldn't recommend this but your tank is heavily planted and with the addition of floating plants it should be fine.

Where in NSW are you?

 

[ShannonKoletti]

Just with the powder gradually, my PH has been stable at 6.8 for about a week now no issues at all not even with the constant water changes or new plants/pots so it’s all good, hasn’t budged.

I know fighting fish are heavily not recommended but my guy just argues with his own reflection or stays at the front of the tank, hasn’t shown any sign of aggression what so ever yet and know it still could happen.

I’m in Sydney, Sutherland Shire area